Best substitute for elm?

I’ve been working on a rather large media console for a while. Originally, I planned on making both shelves of the unit out of elm (top 6/4, bottom 4/4). The bottom shelf went swimmingly, but the top shelf… well turns out some of the elm I bought was more warped than I realized.

So I’ve got 2/3 of a shelf built. I’m not sure that I’ll be able to get more elm to finish out the shelf, since it seems to be rather hard to find in Chicago.

So, I’m wondering, would any of the following woods finish to a similar color as the elm / look good in combination with it: basswood, birch, hickory, red oak, lyptus, makore?

(Those are the options available in 6/4 at the place I’d like to go to…)

5 replies so far

The only wood I can think of that may come anywhere close to elm as far as looks and similar properties could be a nice light colored pecan. I don’t believe any of the woods you mentioned are very close.

If you’re looking for a contrasting wood I would avoid basswood and lyptus, and maybe birch and makore, as the grains may clash. My 2¢.

It’s so dependent on the particular wood you have on hand, I think I’d take a sample with me to the yard you frequent and compare. You might check out the hickory along with the other suggestions. Take a spray bottle with water to must the surface of the sample and the boards you are looking at. Of course, this is easiest if the boards have been (at the very least) skip-planed. If it’s all rough sawn you may need a block plane as well.